Kazi Anowar Hossain

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Kazi Anowar Hossain (14 January 1941 – 8 February 2007) was a Bangladeshi painter known for his classic depictions of rural Bengal. He was born in Gopalganj, in the Bengal Presidency of British India, and grew up in Madaripur. He came from a large Bengali Muslim Kazi family; his father was a police inspector and his mother was a housewife. He was the second of thirteen siblings. He began painting as a student and studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, graduating in 1964, after which he dedicated himself full time to painting.

In his career, Hossain painted scenes of rural Bengal and later created miniature works. His art was shown in exhibitions at home and abroad. During the 1988 floods, he donated money from his sales to relief efforts. A portrait of a boat he painted was gifted by President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He created more than 2,000 paintings. In 2019, Bangladesh launched the Painter Kazi Anowar Hossain Award in his memory.

Hossain received the Ekushey Padak in 2016 posthumously from the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution to art. He passed away on 8 February 2007 at the age of 66. His legacy lives on through his extensive body of work and his website kazianowar.com.